The Shifting Light

by Alice Campion

  ‘You know, it was a relief to hear he was Dad’s cousin. One of my theories was that this guy might’ve been another of Jim’s love-children. My half-brother! That would’ve been too much.’

  ‘So, this Lachlan Wright bloke – he’s Janet Larkin’s boy?’ asked Moira.

  ‘That’s right,’ said Izzy. ‘So like pics of Nina’s dad. If you didn’t know better, you’d swear he was the same person.’ She turned to Nina. ‘I’m here to tell you that Lachlan Wright, your first cousin once removed, isn’t bad for an old bloke. And he’s funny and smart too. You’re going to love him.’

  ‘I’ve Googled him, and his mum. They’re not on Facebook, but he’s got a website for his real estate consulting business. Still can’t figure out what that is, exactly, but I’ll find out soon. I’ve invited him out here. Next Friday.’

  Izzy clapped her hands and leant back in her wicker chair.

  ‘No! Roy and me’ll be leaving for Dubbo that day. Minding my sister’s lot for three weeks,’ said Moira. ‘I’ll be over here in a flash as soon as I get back, though.’ Then, in the next beat, ‘Turns out, once Janet left home nobody around here really heard from her again and it’s funny how you forget unless you’re made to remember. There was some big bust-up between her and your grandfather. What was it about? It’s on the tip of my mind. Dare say it will come back of its own accord.’

  ‘She was Grandad’s elder sister. Weird, I didn’t know Dad had this auntie – and cousin.’

  ‘So, Lachlan’s mum, Janet – she still alive?’ asked Moira.

  ‘Yes, she moved to Queensland and married a guy called Brian Wright. They split up a few years back but she’s still there. Lachlan hasn’t said much about them yet,’ offered Nina.

  ‘So they didn’t make an appearance at Jim’s funeral?’ Izzy asked.

  ‘No. Though Lachlan said they’d heard about his body being found.’

  ‘Sad business,’ said Moira. ‘After all that searching you did, Nina. And all for nought, as it turned out. No pot of gold and everything ruined. Only good thing about that whole palaver was it brought you home to us.’

  ‘I always kind of felt I was the last of the Larkins. That I was like the keeper of The Springs,’ said Nina.

  ‘So,’ wondered Izzy, her fingers steepled, evil-villain style. ‘Virtually your only known Larkin relative is coming out to stake his claim?’

  ‘You are cynical, Isobel Rainbow.’ Nina smiled.

  At the screech of the shearers’ shed door, the women looked over the railing. The latest tour group, no regulars this time, straggled towards Moira’s cultural tours minivan.

  The three rose. ‘Given it was me who tracked him down, I doubt he’s a fortune-hunter,’ smiled Nina. ‘I reckon he’s a bit short on family, just like me, and thought it was a good excuse to come and meet his cousin.’

  ‘And that’s great, bub,’ said Moira. ‘As you well know, it’s always good when folk find their mob.’

  Nina yawned, shooed Syd off the swing chair and fell into it. After a frustrating morning getting nowhere with the cloudscape she’d been trying to capture, then the two-hour round trip to Wandalla for a grocery shop, before heading back here to Kurrabar to wash sheets and prepare the room for Lachlan’s arrival tomorrow, she was exhausted. And she had so much more to do. Paperwork. The paint supplies needed restocking. Ugh. She just needed to shut her eyes for 10 minutes. ‘That’s okay, isn’t it?’ she asked Syd, who was now sulking on the front step of the verandah. Nina stretched. She had hardly slept last night. It was always difficult to drop off when Heath was away – thank god he was back tomorrow.

  She wriggled on the porch swing. Something was digging into her back. She reached under her to find a tattered novel Fifty Shades of Hay. Ha! An old present from Olivia. She flicked the pages to find the inscription she knew was there. ‘Read it and weep! Love ya, Liv xxx’. She really missed her flamboyant friend and the creative world they mixed in in Sydney. She laughed. Izzy would be sure to stir her mercilessly if she caught her reading something like this.

  Nina snuggled back down on the floral ’50s love seat. It was built for two but she couldn’t recall the last time she and Heath had sat in it together. She closed her eyes and wondered how he was right at that moment. Not exhausted, like she was. His land recovery work seemed to always fire him with energy. What was he doing this week? Looking at varieties of saltbush? She knew that whatever it was, it would be important. Important enough, obviously, to keep him away from her. She felt a familiar pang then shook herself. It was no use moping, even though this was a perfect day for it.

  She opened her eyes again to the grey, early afternoon sky. It was cool, not cold, and she felt snug in her jeans and Heath’s woollen jumper. So comfy. She curled into the padded cushions, closed her eyes. Just a few minutes … she drifted …

  Nina wasn’t sure how long she had been lying there when her dreams turned to a distant car engine, a slamming door, the crunch of gravel.

  A low growl. ‘Shhhh,’ Nina mumbled, annoyed at the noise.

  A bark, then Syd was on all fours and Nina was gazing half awake, at a stranger walking up the cracked concrete path. He had a familiar lope. She sat up, blinked and blinked again. But this was no stranger.

  ‘Dad? DAD!’

  As Nina filled a second pot of tea they laughed.

  In the flesh, Lachlan was even more like her father. She took in his aquiline nose, his dimples and the smooth planes of his face. In blue jeans and leather jacket, it was no wonder she had mistaken him for Jim.

  ‘Sorry I freaked you out,’ said Lachlan as he scratched Syd’s ears.

  ‘I’ll live.’

  ‘I could’ve sworn you said Thursday, not Friday. Seriously, you looked like you’d seen a ghost. A charming, spunk of a ghost but still a ghost,’ Lachlan said as he scoffed some Monte Carlos Nina had found in the bottom of the biscuit tin. The crumbs made a messy race down his striped shirt.

  ‘A spunk? God, you talk like him as well as look like him.’

  ‘Hold on – he had a good 10 years or more on me – I’m deeply offended, just so you know.’

  ‘Yeah, you look it too,’ Nina smiled as her new family member, ensconced on the fat living-room lounge, rested his boots on Heath’s footstool.

  Her father and his cousin were so alike and yet so different. Whereas Jim’s usual demeanour had been cool and confident, Lachlan’s was gentle and puppyish. He laughed easily, mostly at himself. And he had the ability – rare among the men she’d known – to listen to what she was saying with genuine interest.

  They had spent the past hour talking non-stop about Jim, about what it was like to find a long-lost cousin and about the Larkins.

  ‘… All this time, I’ve had a great-aunt – Janet. You’ve got to bring your mum out here, Lachlan. Soon.’

  ‘That’s sweet of you, Nina, but Mum’s not that well. Even a year ago, she’d have been here in a flash. But now, her dementia’s getting worse. Since Dad left, the house is way too much for her. She won’t leave and she hates me fussing around, but I’ll probably need to go and be her full-time carer in the next year or so.’

  ‘That’s so sad. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Yes. You’d have liked her back when she was more herself. She was one of the early feminists. Passed it on to me. I’ve always been drawn to strong, smart women.’

  ‘It must have been tough for a feminist growing up around here back then,’ said Nina.

  ‘Yeah, well, that’s why she left in the end. She gave up the chance of going to uni in order to stay and run the farm – she was the brains behind the operation, the one who made a success of the business. But then her father died and left the place to her brother – even though he was younger. No offence to your grandfather, but he got the lot. That was the last straw. So she ended up becoming a librarian in Queensland – couldn’t get far enough away. That’s where she met my dad.’

  ‘And she and you must be my only living rellies, on Dad’s side at le
ast.’

  ‘What about your mum’s?’

  ‘Depends on which mum you mean. It’s complicated.’

  ‘I’m all ears,’ said Lachlan, lying back with his hands behind his head.

  Nina told him all about her birth-mother, Hilary, about her half-sister, Deborah, her father, and about how her life had changed so drastically since she had inherited the family farm, and then again when she won the Flynn Prize. In fact, he made her so comfortable, she even told him about her father’s love affair with Harrison Grey. Before she knew it, she had also mentioned that Heath was often away, about how she spent a lot of time at The Springs and how things were somehow not what she had imagined. She paused for breath.

  ‘You’re a good listener,’ she said finally.

  ‘Wow,’ said Lachlan, shaking his head. ‘Hilary sounds – um, interesting. A bit like my ex.’

  ‘Nope. No-one is like Hilary. But tell me about your ex.’

  ‘That will have to be for another time. I’d best be going – I have a date with a standard room at the Royal and I want to get to it before they run out of mixed grills.’ Lachlan raised his eyebrows so comically that Nina couldn’t help but laugh.

  ‘Stop it! You are staying here. I insist.’

  ‘Here? No I couldn’t, really. I just wanted to drop in and meet the cuz before I did anything else. I seriously didn’t mean to stay here.’ He looked embarrassed.

  ‘Come on, there’s no excuses.’

  ‘Well, if you really don’t mind – maybe just for one night. That’d help … if your Heath won’t mind.’

  ‘Of course he won’t,’ said Nina. ‘What sort of long-lost relative would I be if I turfed you out?’

  ‘True. Can I pay you back by making dinner?’

  ‘Well, I don’t know who taught you to cook but I owe them big time,’ said Nina as she stacked the dishes. ‘And I can’t believe you brought all those ingredients with you. Mixed grill at the Royal? You’re full of it!’ She shook her head as she scraped the remains of seared asparagus in anchovy butter and stuffed trout into the bin.

  ‘Told you. Bought ’em on the other side of Wandalla,’ said Lachlan, still at the table. ‘Seemed a waste not to use them tonight. And I think I have something else too that I’d forgotten about.’ He reached into a green shopping bag. ‘Ah yes – a bone for Syd.’

  ‘He’ll love that,’ said Nina.

  ‘Please let me spoil him,’ Lachlan replied throwing it into Syd’s bowl. ‘When you told me you had a kelpie, I couldn’t help myself. Here, boy.’ Nina smiled as she watched Syd attack the bone.

  ‘More wine?’ asked Lachlan.

  She nodded and he refilled her glass.

  ‘This him?’ Lachlan asked as he lifted a photo of Heath from the buffet. It was one of Nina’s favourites. Heath, his face full of concentration, holding a stamping Jet by the bridle.

  Nina nodded.

  ‘Of course it is,’ said Lachlan. ‘God, he’s all jaw. Tall, dark, handsome. He can capture, kill and barbecue a beast in one swift movement. Am I right?’

  Nina laughed. ‘Yes – but he can’t make a sauce as good as you, I admit.’

  ‘Hmm. Pity he’s not here. Can’t wait to meet him.’

  ‘You will.’ There was a silence.

  ‘When’s he back exactly?’

  Nina looked at Lachlan who appeared to be studying his wine glass. She was about to reply but something made her stop. Maybe it was the mention of Heath’s name but she began to feel uncomfortable as she recalled how much she had told this … almost-stranger.

  ‘Not sure. Could be back tonight. Or in the morning,’ she lied.

  ‘Oh – hope it’s tonight. Want to twist his arm about his farming ideas. I know about as much about farming as I do about neurosurgery but I’m interested in green issues.’

  Nina raised her eyebrows.

  ‘Holistic management. His ideas. He sounds smart. Looks like you did well for yourself there.’

  ‘Yes,’ smiled Nina. She was stupid to worry. Lachlan seemed perfectly genuine. She had to start trusting people more.

  ‘Now, with my ex, Stephanie,’ he continued. ‘I just can’t believe we even got together in the first place. It wasn’t meant to be.’ He brushed a lock of hair from his forehead.

  Where have I seen that gesture before, Nina wondered. And then she was overcome with a pleasant wave of recognition. It was her gesture.

  ‘Steph had never really had to work, so the pressure was on me. I got a gig in real estate – well, Steph got it for me. And then she thought we’d “arrived” when I set up my own consultancy, but it just about killed me.’

  ‘Somehow you don’t strike me as the real estate type,’ laughed Nina.

  ‘Hated it. Felt the slime descend on me every morning when I drove to work. When the business didn’t make us instantly rich, that was the end of the marriage.’

  ‘Oh, I see,’ said Nina. ‘And where is Steph now?’

  ‘Still in Sydney. Happy with another bloke, I understand.’ Lachlan walked across the room to study a scene of a dazzling Sydney Harbour, yachts and approaching black storm clouds.

  ‘God, Jim was talented.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Nina. ‘He was.’

  ‘The lines in this one – they’re amazing. The light!’

  ‘Really? You like that one? Me too! The art elite don’t regard it as one of his best. That’s why I keep it here and not at The Springs gallery.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ Lachlan said softly. ‘His later stuff was more sophisticated, but I love the simplicity in this.’

  They smiled at each other.

  ‘I know a bit about the financial side of the art world but you’ll never catch me with a brush in my hand,’ Lachlan said with a mock grimace.

  ‘Financial side?’

  ‘I’ve got a few high-end art connections in London and New York – gallery owners mostly. It’s something I became interested in on my travels.’

  ‘Sounds amazing.’

  He smiled again.

  ‘Well,’ said Nina, draining her glass. ‘The bed is made up in Heath’s brother’s room. You’ll like Ben, he’s in Sydney at uni but he’s heading home soon. Hope you’re comfy. I might get to bed. God knows what time Heath’ll be back.’

  ‘Thanks so much for letting me stay. It’s been great to meet you at last.’ He leant and kissed her on the top of the head. ‘Goodnight.’

  Nina tried to call Heath before she went to bed. Out of range.

  In the darkness, she ran over the day’s events. Lachlan was so like her father, yet different. Funnier. Lighter. She couldn’t wait to debrief with Izzy. She closed her eyes. No use. She decided to get some water.

  Nina walked into the hallway and noticed a soft light coming from the living room. Peeking around the open door she saw Lachlan, his back to her, standing in front of Jim’s largest canvas. What was he doing? Lachlan raised his hands and she realised he was taking a photograph.

  She opened her mouth to speak but decided not to and headed back down the hall. It was nothing, she told herself. Nothing at all.

  CHAPTER 7

  Bacon. Coffee. Nina rolled over and opened her eyes. Heath must be back. She sprang out of bed and tore to the kitchen. The fridge door was ajar and Heath’s stripy pyjamaed bottom was up in the air as he foraged for something in the vegetable crisper.

  ‘Hey,’ Nina said as she plucked a wilted geranium from a vase, put it between her teeth and draped herself over the kitchen table. ‘Shouldn’t it be me you’re looking for?’

  The fridge door shut and the striped pyjamas turned around.

  Nina felt she might die on the spot. It was Lachlan. Dressed – rather disconcertingly – in Heath’s pyjamas, which hung forlornly over his smaller frame. He’d topped it off with Nina’s frilly red apron Ben had given her as a joke Christmas present.

  But it was what she was wearing that Nina was suddenly all too aware of.

  ‘Oh, sorry,’ she said, jumping back to her fee
t and trying to pull her tiny white t-shirt down as far as it would go, though she knew it wouldn’t go near covering her undies. ‘I thought you were Heath. Well, obviously you’re not him but I heard you and I smelt the bacon and …’ And god, she realised. She was braless.

  But Lachlan seemed unperturbed.

  ‘Sadly, Heath’s shoes would probably be as hard to fill as his jim-jams,’ he said smiling as he cracked eggs into a bowl. ‘But I guess also he doesn’t call them jim-jams, eh?’

  ‘Yes, you’re right,’ called Nina as she took off down the hall. ‘Just a sec.’

  She returned tying up a Chinese dressing gown. ‘So, hope you slept well. Something smells good,’ she said lightly as she perched on a vinyl bar stool, trying to shrug off her embarrassment.

  ‘No need to get changed on my account,’ he said, looking directly at her.

  Nina felt suddenly self-conscious and crossed her arms. Her mind flew back to last night. Of course. He was taking pictures of her father’s paintings … Her unease returned.

  ‘I hope you don’t mind, I’ve started breakfast. Just want to make myself useful.’ Lachlan turned back to his chopping board. ‘Sorry about the mistaken identity – that’s twice now,’ he said, suddenly chirpy again as he sliced mushrooms. ‘And I saw these PJs folded in the ironing basket over there and I had nothing clean. Didn’t want to wake you to ask and couldn’t have me wandering around in the nick. Hope you don’t mind. Or that Heath won’t mind. I need to do some washing of my own. Been a bit all over the shop. Coffee?’

  ‘That would be great,’ said Nina. ‘By the way, last night I noticed …’

  ‘Jim’s paintings,’ said Lachlan interrupting. ‘Amazing to see originals. That harbour one. I was blown away – stayed up for ages gazing at it. Even took some pics – not that my phone does the colours justice.’

  Silence.

  ‘No worries,’ said Nina, sipping her coffee as Lachlan busied himself with eggs and toast and pots. He looked quite hilarious in that apron. She really would have to chill more.